EasyView's Beacon Solution Reaches Out to House Hunters

The company's app and service, used in conjunction with GeLo Bluetooth beacons, provide prospective homebuyers with an easy way to receive information on their phones when they come within 180 feet of a property for sale.

EasyView, a real estate technology company, has launched a system designed to make shopping for a new home much easier. The solution alerts prospective homebuyers, via their smartphones, when they have approached a property for sale, and then links them to more information and an agent.

For the past 31 years or so, the Iowa-based firm has offered its technology and software solutions to businesses in a variety of verticals. In October 2014, EasyView launched a Web-based platform to help real estate agencies connect with homebuyers regarding properties for sale. The company's latest solution, however, includes Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons to make the process more automatic.

If an iPhone's Bluetooth radio is turned on, the EasyView app will display an alert whenever the phone comes within range of an infoBeacon installed in front of a property.

EasyView's original home-buying solution consisted of a shortened URL printed on a property-for-sale sign or brochure. A user would enter the short URL into the EasyView app running on a smartphone, and would thus be directed to a listing of pictures, prices, square footage and agent information, enabling him or her to learn more about that specific home. Interested users can contact the listing agent directly from the website, and the agent receives the buyer's request and contact information instantly. With a short URL, the company reports, EasyView solution is intended to be easier than looking up a home listing by typing in a full-length URL or conducting an online search.

In November 2014, the company added beacon functionality to the Apple iOS version of its EasyView app. The new functionality, known as infoBeacon, eliminates the need for a user to manually enter the short URL, by enabling iPhones running iOS 7.1 or later to capture data from GeLo Bluetooth beacons installed in front of the homes. (InfoBeacon is not being offered for the version of EasyView that runs on Android devices.)

Ryan LaRue

First, a house hunter uses an iPhone to visit the iTunes website to download and install the iOS version of the EasyView app. If the phone's Bluetooth radio is turned on, the app will receive an alert whenever that phone comes within range of a GeLo beacon installed in front of a property for sale.

The infoBeacon system aims to make it easier for shoppers to access data without having to get out of their car, pick up brochures, dial phone numbers, conduct Web searches or type in an EasyView short URL. In fact, the system can even get a driver's attention if he or she did not see the signage on the property, or if the signage wasn't there at all, such as at a condominium or apartment building.